Casual Eclectic Dining

Locally Sourced - Cooked with passion

The Restaurant:

Here at Manila Bay Cafe, we believe that loving what you do for a living is the best way to live. We have a true passion for creating food and a strong desire to share those creations with others. Manila Bay has been apart of this beautiful community for over 10 years with great success. Building friendships and putting smiles on people's faces is something Manila Bay Cafe has done since the beginning. We strive to support our small community in every way possible. To prepare the freshest food to our patrons, we locally source from farms and local businesses within the area. We also feature local artists as part of our decor. This is an amazing community, and we want to do as much as we can to help it to continue to grow and prosper.

The Owners:

Jonathan and Christina shared the dream of opening their own restaurant for many years. The previous owners of the cafe made that dream a reality. Now Jonathan, Christina, and their beautiful children James, Braiden, and Annaliese have moved to the small town of Dayton, WA to start a new adventure and fulfill their lifelong dream of running their own restaurant...the Manila Bay Cafe.

Jonathan Betts

Jonathan was born and raised in Arizona. He moved to Vancouver, Washington at the start of his Freshman year in High School. From a very young age, he aspired to be a chef and work within the restaurant industry. He owes much of his inspiration to his mother who is a renowned baker and pastry chef. While he was in high school, Jonathan attended the Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management program at the Clark County Skills Center where he earned his American Culinary Federation certification. There he was fortunate enough to have been instructed by highly decorated chefs whom are widely known as some of the best in their field. Chef Andrew McColley and Chef Greg Retchless proved to be instrumental to Jonathan's success and training. In culinary school, Jonathan met the love of his life Christina. The passion they both shared for cooking and music drove them together and they got married soon after.

Jonathan has worked extensively to expand his knowledge of the culinary industry in restaurants and kitchens for over a decade. He has worked with a wide range of restaurants and cuisines from bar and grills to upscale fine dining. His work experience as a chef and manager has trained him in many aspects of the restaurant and catering industry. Jonathan has helped cater private events for sports teams such as the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers. He has worked on the Governor's Ball and corporate events for companies such as Microsoft and Intel.

Christina Betts

Christina was born and raised in the small town of Goldendale, WA. From the time she could walk, she was helping out in the kitchen. She was always eager to learn how things grow and how to utilize them in the kitchen. When she was 13 she chose to move to Vancouver, WA for a bigger school with more opportunities. One of those opportunities turned out to be the Clark County Skills Center where she met Chef Andrew McColley and Chef Greg Retchless who became not only her teachers and close friends, but also her true mentors. She took everything she had learned growing up and everything she was being taught to rise and become the sous chef in her second year. It was also at the Skills Center that she met the man of her dreams, Jonathan Betts. He shared her passions, and soon after they were married. Although she was a pantry chef at a busy restaurant, Christina decided to focus on raising their three children. Even though being a personal chef for three children kept her busy, she still, when possible, took opportunities to serve at restaurants and work local catering events.